A Softer Touch
by Sugarshocker
Summary: A less one-sided Sakaki x Kaori story. Shoujo Ai- romantic and dramatic - or so I hope - with some tasteful sex likely later on, so rated M to be safe. My first fanfic- I hope you like it!
1. Chapter 1  Morning and Evening

Beeping. Sunlight. Morning.

Morning. Sakaki opened her eyes slowly, blinking from the sunlight streaming through the crack in her curtains. Sitting up slightly, she turned and tapped the button on her alarm clock. She stretched her long arms above her head and yawned.

"Mew!" Sakaki looked at the doorway and saw that Maya had pushed the sliding door slightly ajar and was peeking in. She smiled. The past few weeks had been like a dream, filled with soft fur and warm purrs. Maya padded over to the futon and hopped up into her lap, and she scratched the wildcat softly behind the ears.

"Today, Maya, I need to find a roommate. I hope someone else calls, don't you?" She looked at the calendar on the wall, her smile shrinking slightly. Sakaki had moved to Hokkaido to attend veterinary school, and without her allergic mother she had been free to bring Maya along. Her parents were helping her pay for the apartment for the first few months, but she had promised to find a roommate to split the rent and, she hoped, a part-time job. She had already had two responses to her roommate advertisement, but neither had worked out. The first had been a very nervous girl who called after her visit to explain she had found a cheaper apartment. The second was a handsome young man who Sakaki could hardly speak to and who had left after a few awkward minutes.

Sakaki gently placed Maya on the floor beside her and stood up. She went about her morning routine, rolling up her bed, dressing in basketball shorts and a baggy tee shirt, and making breakfast for herself and Maya. As she was opening the cat food tin, the phone on the small kitchen table began to ring. Sakaki put the half-opened can and the can opener on the table and picked up the phone, giving a quiet "Hello."

"Hello, I am calling about the room for rent. I'd like to come and see it, what time would be convenient for you?" The voice on the other end was polite, high, and feminine.

"Um, how would one o' clock suit you?" Sakaki stammered, struggling to make herself audible.

"One this afternoon? That would be fine," said the polite voice. "I have the address from the advertisement. Thank you for your time."

"You're welcome."

"Goodbye."

"Oh! Goodbye."

Sakaki spent the remainder of her morning (after feeding Maya, who had grown impatient with the scent of food in the air) tidying the small apartment, dusting what few surfaces needed it, and attempting to make herself look as non-threatening as possible. She tried on several outfits before deciding on a pair of straight-leg jeans and a pale pink tank top. Her hair, as usual, presented a bigger problem. She went thought her usual motions, first trying a ponytail, then pigtails, then a long, messy braid. Sighing after each style, Sakaki eventually let her hair fall into its usual long, straight, black waterfall.

"Still not cute..." she muttered, making what were supposed to be endearing faces at the mirror. Settling on a small smile that she felt was friendly-looking, Sakaki left the bathroom to play with Maya until her prospective roommate arrived.

Kaori walked down the sidewalk, frowning at the scrap of newspaper in her hand. She had been walking for half an hour now and she still had not reached the address listed. Thinking she must be close, she pushed the paper back into her pocket and pressed on. Five minutes later, she had reached her destination. As she climbed the stairs to the apartment, she wondered what the girl inside would be like. She needed a new place to live- she could pay the rent on her current apartment with her pay from her work at her cousin's bakery, but only just, and it was a smaller space than she was eager to share with another person.

She reached the door and knocked, then stepped back. The door opened and Kaori bowed and said "Please forgive my lateness." Upon raising her head, she saw Sakaki's smiling face and began to stammer. "Mi-Miss Sakaki! This is your- your apartment!" Blushing brightly she bowed again, faster. "Please excuse me!"

When Sakaki opened her door, she found she had no need for her rehearsed smile. Seeing her old classmate standing there had caused her to break into a genuine grin. Sakaki had missed her school friends and the relative ease with which she could talk to them. As she watched Kaori stutter and blush, she continued to smile. When the smaller girl stopped talking, Sakaki asked her to come in. She led Kaori to a small, plush sofa and they sat opposite each other, Kaorin glowing pink and Sakaki beaming silently.

"So, Kaorin, how have you been?" Sakaki asked, her hands in her lap.

"Oh, quite well! I've got a job in a bakery and I'm going study medicine and now you're here and-" Kaori stopped short, blushing ever harder and looking down.

"It's nice to see you again, too," Sakaki agreed. "I was certainly surprised to see you here. Are you looking for a place to live?"

"Yes! Please let me live with you!"

"She must really need somewhere," Sakaki thought to herself. Aloud, she said, "I would be happy to have you. Are... are you alright?"

Kaori's face had split into such a manic smile that Sakaki though she must be about to laugh or cry. "I'm just so happy to have a home, Miss Sakaki! I hope we can be good housemates." Kaorin explained her current living arangements rapidly and they decided Kaori would stay overnight and then they would go and get her things from the old apartment the following morning. Although neither said it, together they thought, "Sometimes, things just work out perfectly."

After a simple lunch, they returned to the sofa and reminisced about their not-so-distant school days. As they talked, Kaori gradually became calmer. She found that she had never really had a private conversation with Sakaki before and, now that she was here, it wasn't so different from talking to Chihiro, except that in this conversation Kaori did most of the talking.

At one point, Kaori began to an impression of Mr. Kimura. Rasing her arms stiffly above her, she began to moan in a deep voice, "Kaorin, why don't you wear shorter skirts?" This was the moment at which Maya decided to leap onter her back. Shrieking, she jumped off of the sofa and spun in circles. Maya leapt off in fright and Sakaki exclaimed, "No! Bad Maya!"

Calming slightly, Kaori, looked at the tiny cat now sitting repentantly at Sakaki's feet and was hysterical once more. "Isn't that... an Iriomote cat!" she blurted, eyes wide. "What is she doing here? Aren't they endangered?"

"He."

"What?"

"Maya is a boy cat," Sakaki explained.

"Myaaa!" Maya interjected.

"Oh, well of course..." Kaori trailed off. After a second's pause, she continued, "I mean! That aside, he's really an Iriomote cat?"

"He is."

"Well, aren't they endangered? You could get in trouble! Where did you even find one?"

"Well..." Sakaki stopped. Could she keep Maya with Kaorin here? It was too late now to not tell her. "On our class trip we visited the island and..."

Kaori interrupted, "And you took him with you? Our group didn't even see one."

"No. He came up to me and we spent the day together. No cat has ever been so friendly to me. Then I had to leave him. After a while, I saw a news story about a cat who had died. I think it was his mother, because, he came to find me."

Stunned, Kaori sat in silence. After almost a minute, she asked in disbelief, "...really?"

"Really," Sakaki replied firmly. "He lived with Chiyo until I moved here. Please don't tell anyone! I don't want to lose him. I'll do anything to keep him!"

Once again, Kaori sat quietly and looked at her Amazonian crush, who was now misty-eyed and seemingly smaller. "I promise your secret is safe," she finally said.

"As if," she though, "I would ever do that to Miss Sakaki."

"Thank you!" Sakaki half-shouted as she placed her hands on Kaori's shoulders, tears now flowing freely down her cheeks. Kaori hesitated, then decided this was not an opportunity she would allow to pass. Sliding under Sakaki's arms, she wrapped her own around the bigger girl in a firm hug. Though momentarily surprised, she soon embraced Kaori in return.

Although neither said it, together they thought, "I somehow feel so reassured and safe."

After a few seconds had passed, they parted. "Now that that is settled," said Kaori evenly, "why don't we decide what to eat for dinner?"

Later that evening, after a meal of kitsune udon, the three residents of the apartment sat around the small table, two playing cards and one attacking lint. The soft light cast by a lamp in the corner made the room feel sleepy and calm. Soon, Sakaki and Kaori were yawning more and more frequently, and Maya was curled up in a ball under the table between them.

"Maybe we ought to go to sleep soon," remarked Kaori. Sakaki agreed, and they soon rose and walked to the bedroom, where they discovered that they had neglected several important things. First, Kaori had nothing to sleep in. This was easily fixed, however- Sakaki's spare pajamas were far too large, but a plain gray tee and a pair of shorts were close enough for sleeping. On the other hand, Sakaki had forgotten that she lacked a guest futon. Kaori quickly volunteered to sleep on the couch, but after a short discussion Sakaki convinced her with little difficulty that they could share her bed. Sakaki left for the bathroom to change, leaving Kaori sitting, slightly stunned, on the foot of the futon.

She had almost regained her composure when Sakaki walked back in and slid the door shut behind her. She was wearing pink silk pajamas, her raven hair cascading down her back. As Kaori blushed and looked nervously down, she noticed that Sakaki's nails were painted a vibrant yellow. Sakaki sat cross-legged at the head of the futon and dropped the hairbrush she had been holding on the bed.

"I thought we could brush each other's hair," she explained. Kaorin nodded. "I'll do yours first, okay?"

"O-okay, Miss Sakaki." said Kaorin meekly. She turned and hugged her knees, her shoulders high with apprihension. As Sakaki began to brush, Kaori relaxed quickly. Even in her nervous state, she found that Sakaki's gentle touch calmed her, and she thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of the brush.

After what felt like a very short time she heard Sakaki's soft voice, seeming far off despite it's closeness. "Alright, your turn." Kaori sighed happily and turned to face Sakaki, who was smiling warmly. She took the brush and Sakaki turned away and knelt, her long, pale, bare feet peeking out from under her. Kaori sat transfixed, watching the shimmering black curtain swaying before her. For so long she had longed to run her fingers through this hair...

"Um, Kaorin?"

"Oh! Miss Sakaki! I'm so s-sorry." Kaori babbled, snapping back to reality. She tightened her slack grip on the hairbrush and began to run it through Sakaki's long hair. It was just as soft as Kaori had imagined, and she found herself brushing as if in a trance. As the minutes passed, things seemed to grow softer around the edges. After about a quarter of an hour, Kaori had brushed from the right side to the center. As she brushed and stroked lovingly, something happened to bring her out of her dreamlike state. As she brushed the long hair its tips brushed against Sakaki's long toes. Sakaki twitched slightly, then as the brushing contined she began to giggle softly.

"Miss Sakaki, that's so cute..." Kaori said sleepily, not fully realizing what she was saying. Sakaki sat bolt upright, rousing Kaori from her daydreaming. "OH!" she exclaimed, embarrassed. "Miss Sakaki, I-"

"Kaorin!" In a flash, Sakaki had spun around, still kneeling, and had once again put her hands on Kaori's shoulders. "Please tickle my feet!"

"Wh-what?" Kaori stared dumbstruck into Sakaki's sharp, earnest eyes. "You want me to-"

"Tickle my feet," Sakaki interrupted again, nodding firmly.

"But... what? Why?"

"It's... cute," Sakaki said, blushing and looking down. "Right?"

"Er, well... yeah," Kaori agreed, blinking. In yet another flash, Sakaki had twisted from her genuflect position to a seated one further away and placed her large, bare feet in Kaori's lap. Kaori looked blankly at them for a moment, color rising in her cheeks, then gingerly slid her small hand under Sakaki's right heel and lifted it up. Slowly, carefully, she ran her nail up the sole. Sakaki ankle twitched, and she smiled at Kaori. Taking heart from the smile, Kaori began to stroke faster. With this, Sakaki began to giggle rapidly and Kaori cracked a smile, too. She sped her tickling further, employing all five fingers, scrabbling like a spider. Sakaki shook with laughter, all her toes twitching.

Kaorin gasped and ceased moving entirely. The toes of Sakaki's left foot had brushed between Kaori's legs and caught her completely off guard.

"Kaorin?" Sakaki said, her smile fading. "What's wrong?"

"NOTHING!" Kaori exclaimed, dropping the foot and springing backwards. "I-I-I..."

"I'm sorry," Sakaki interrupted sadly, "I didn't mean to upset you. I just wanted to be cute... Maybe- maybe we should go to bed."

Kaori nodded. "It's not your fault. I just, er, remembered something."

"what?"

"I, um... I'll tell you in the morning."

With few further words beyond "good night," they lay down beside each other, facing in opposite directions.

Although neither said it, together they thought, "How could I have messed that up?"

+++ Hi there, Sugarshocker here. ^^ This is my first piece of fanfiction, so please enjoy! I've noticed that most romance (and, for that matter, smut) between Kaori and Sakaki is really just wish fulfillment for Kaori, which is a cheap, false imitation of true romance. Sakaki is a character with many wishes of her own, and it seems to me that each of them could benefit from the other. Anyways, I hope my horse is not too high in this little note here and taht my writing makes you feel something nice. Please feel free to point out any errors I might have missed- I will eradicate them! :D Finally, I hope not to let my own personal sexual preferences shine through too much in the characters, but some evidence certainly will, so sorry about that.. . Thank you for reading. Sweet electric dreams! +++


	2. Chapter 2 Sleeping and Blushing

Beeping. Sunlight. Soft. Morning.

Morning. Sakaki opened her eyes slowly, blinking from the sunlight streaming through the crack in her curtains. Something was different this morning. The slanting sunbeam that usually fell across her cheek was cast instead across her chest. Sakaki yawned as her sleepy brain tried to explain this change. She looked over and saw Kaori, smiling and sleeping peacefully through the alarm, and remembered the previous day. Slowly becoming more conscious, she realized that something else was new: a small, soft hand was intertwined with her own. Sakaki felt hot color shoot into her cheeks and she quickly silenced the alarm with her free hand. It would be okay, she decided, to sleep a little longer- after all, they had been up very late. She closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep, wondering if Kaori had forgotten the evening's embarrassing ending.

Sunlight. Firm. Morning.

Kaori's eyes fluttered open. She was smiling brightly, but for what reason she could not be sure. Shifting her position slightly, she looked at Sakaki.

"She looks so cool, like a sleeping tiger," Kaori thought. She slowly allowed her eyes to wander down Sakaki's sleeping form, first watching her chest rise and fall slowly, then traveling down to-

Kaori's eyes stopped their exploration, locked on her long fingers. They were, as she could now feel, wrapped around Kaori's hand. She let out a small squeak, but did not move. Had this been her doing? What would Sakaki think if she woke up? She had to let go, but at the same time she definitely didn't want to. what if Sakaki woke up when she did? That was as good a reason as she could think of and she clung to it. Shutting her eyes tightly, Kaori feigned sleep and tried unsuccessfully to return to her slumber.

Soft. Rough. Stiff.

Sakaki opened her eyes quickly. Much more conscious than before, she noticed many things at once- Kaori's soft hand in hers, the stiffness of her body after her long repose, the relative dimness of the room now that the sun was directly above the apartment, and a rough tongue on the sole of her foot. Stifling her giggles, she looked again at Kaori who, unbeknownst to Sakaki, continued to pretend to sleep. She shook her foot to discourage Maya, and it seemed to work. She sighed with relief, only to jump as a moment later Kaori shrieked wih laughter. Sakaki sat up to see Maya licking Kaori's foot. Kaori sat up and pulled her feet under herself.

"Erm, good morning," said Sakaki nervously. "I'm sorry, Maya pushes the door open sometimes."

Kaori replied, with difficulty, "It's okay. I think it's pretty late anyway." It was not lost on her that they were still holding hands. "I, um..."

Sakaki let go of Kaori's hand. "Kaorin, about last night..."

"Oh, I'm sorry! I was just really tired, that's all."

"So... you weren't bothered by... what I asked you to do?"

"Oh, not at all!" Kaori smiled sincerely, relived at the resolution.

Suddenly, Sakaki remembered something. "Kaorin, you said you had remembered something last night. What was it?"

Kaori scrambled for an answer. "I just, um, remembered that my cousin mentioned... needing my futon when I moved out." Kaori's mouth snapped shut like a trap as she realized what she had just done. Filled with doubt, she watched Sakaki's face for a reaction.

Sakaki sat for a moment before saying, "We could keep sharing mine until you can buy a new one." She flexed her fingers slightly. "Speaking of money... are you late for work?"

"Oh! I- No, wait. I told them would need today off when I called yesterday. Do you have anything to do?"

"Nothing."

"Well, what shall we do today?"

"What do you want to do, Kaorin?"

Kaori paused. This was a wonderful opportunity, but she had little time to think. "Why don't we stay here in our pajamas all day? I'm really comfortable."

Blushing a little and petting Maya, Sakaki replied, "Sounds nice. Do you want breakfast?"

After a light breakfast, they sat beside each other on the small couch. Although tey had made animated small talk throughout the meal, they now sat in silence, each seemingly out of things to say. Desperate to end the silence, Kaori asked, "So... why did you suddenly want me to tickle you last night?"

Staring at her knees, Sakaki whispered, "I wanted to be cute like you."

"But Miss Sakaki," Kaori began, "why? You're so cool and pretty and..." Kaori trailed off. "Like me? Does she mean that?" she thought

"I- nevermind. I don't want to talk about it."

Kaori noticed that Sakaki's eyes were slightly watery. Setting her mouth in a determined expression, she said, "If it will make you happy, I can do it again."

"Kaorin, I-" Sakaki seemed unable to finish.

"Here," Kaori said forcefully, grabbing Sakaki's ankles and swinging them onto the couch.

"Kaorin, wait! I-"

"What?"

"I want to tickle you." Once again, Sakaki's gaze was fixed on her knees.

At this, Kaori lost much of her prior resolve. "Wh-what? Why me?"

"This morning," Sakaki mumbled, "when Maya... adorable." She seemed to be too embarassed to speak coherently.

"M-me?" Sakaki nodded and Kaori's face flushed. "You think I'm- okay." Though much redder now, Kaori's expression was once again firm. She popped her feet out of her house slippers and placed her heels on Sakaki's lap. Kaori's feet were warm from the slippers and her racing heart and Sakaki uttered a soft "oh" upon feeling their touch.

Sakaki looked down at the small, soft feet on her thighs and grew even more scarlet. She looked up at Kaori's face. Perhaps it was the hand-holding, or her laughing fit in the morning, but it seemed Kaori looked somehow different. Her flushed cheeks were puffed slightly with concentration and Sakaki found the expression quite charming.

Kaori soon noticed that Sakaki was staring at her. "Miss Sakaki?" she said tentatively. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, erm-" Sakaki snapped to attention. Unable to speak coherently, she did the only thing that came to mind. Picking up Kaori's right foot, she began gently stroking the sole.

Surprised at the gentleness of Sakaki's touch, Kaori giggled softly. It hardly tickled, and Kaori found it quite pleasant. "That actually feels ni-ice," she said, her voice wavering with slight laughter. Sakaki smiled. Shifting her legs around, she set the foot down and picked up both at once, wrapping one arm around Kaori's ankles and tickling her with the other hand. Kaori's feet were very soft, and Sakaki enjoyed the smooth feeling of her skin. Now laughing a little harder, Kaori shook slightly in Sakaki's grip.

Still tickling, Sakaki turned to look over her shoulder to see Kaori, laughing and shaking, and made a decision. She stopped tickling and turned to place Kaori's feet on her lap once again. As Kaori's laughter began to fade, Sakaki said, "Thank you, Kaorin. You're really cute when you laugh."

Kaori was glad of the rest, but she almost wished Sakaki had not stopped. When she registered Sakaki's words, she gasped, "Miss Sakaki, I- thank you."

Saying nothing more, Sakaki picked up Kaori's foot again. Kaori shut her eyes in anticipation. However, Sakaki's touch was different this time. She opened one eye and saw that Sakaki was not tickling her and was instead massaging her foot gently. Kaori closed her eye again, a blissful expression on her face. Miss Sakaki, the girl she had spent so much time trying to get close to, was tenderly rubbing her feet. She sighed happily, which made Sakaki smile.

After a quarter of an hour, Kaori was soundly asleep. She let out a gentle snore and Sakaki stopped rubbing. Moving carefully off of the sofa, she placed Kaori's legs on the cushion. She stood still for a moment, looking at Kaori's sleeping face. After a few minutes, she decided to take a chance. "If she wakes up, she might be frightened of me..." Sakaki thought. "I want to try, though."

Sakaki slid one arm carefully behind Kaori's back, the other under her knees, and lifted her gingerly. Kaori's breathing remained slow and peaceful, and Sakaki took heart. She raised the sleeping girl higher and sat down on the couch herself. Shifting herself into a reclined position, she lay Kaori down, face up, on her own chest. Wrapping her arms around the still slumbering girl, she closed her eyes.

Maya padded sleepily into the room and lept deftly onto the sofa. He pushed himself close to Sakaki's side and sat down, soon to nap himself.

It seemed to Sakaki that she had never been so engulfed in cuteness. Pleased with her bravery, she quickly drifted off.

The three of them slept there peacefully, all warm and happy. Although nobody awake, together they dreamed of staying there forever.

+++ Hi there, Sugarshocker again. :3 I hope that this chapter felt natural- I'm not sure, so I'd love to hear what you think. Did I rush it? I'm also worried that things might have gotten a little too close to the line of my own personal preferences and desires- did you notice? I hope not. :/ Finally, this one is shorter than the first chapter- should I try to be more consistent? Despite all this, I'm fairly pleased with my work here. So until next time, leave a review, tell your friends, and mock my construction errors. Thanks for reading. Sweet electric dreams!+++


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